New York Versus Los Angeles: May the Best Haircut Win

An East Coast/West Coat war it is not, but men treat their hair differently on the Atlantic and Pacific. No one has a better perspective on this phenomenon than Jason Simao, manager of the new Baxter Finely Barber Shop in Los Angeles, and recent transplant from New York, where he worked at the venerated Freeman's Sporting Club (full disclosure, where he was my barber for over a year). He took some time between cuts to let us in on the nuances of haircare in the City of Angels, chin straps vs. neck beards, and that Iron Man beard.

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Esquire: What have you noticed about how men feel about their hair in L.A. versus New York?

JASON SIMAO: I do see some of the same haircuts in L.A. that I saw in New York, but New York is a very traditional city when it comes to haircuts and style. It's a lot of classic cuts; mainly scissor over comb and straight lines, but of course, some people do want texture in their hair. I've noticed out here there's a lot edgier stuff; razor cuts, and a lot of texture all around the head, as opposed to just the top. In New York, you get a fade and texture around the top. Here, they want it all around and that's a big difference.

ESQUIRE: Do you think people express themselves more through their hair in Los Angeles than they do in New York?

JS: In New York, especially on the Lower East Side and parts of Brooklyn, people definitely express themselves through their hair. I mean, at the Wall Street barbershops, everybody has the same cut. But you could run into that anywhere. Basically people who want to express themselves through their hairdo, and other guys come in every four months and just want to get it all off.

ESQ: Your head is the first thing that people see in L.A., since you're in your car. In New York, people see your clothes, and that's what they have to present themselves...

JS: There's definitely a rockier edge to L.A. than New York. I'm talking pretty funky edges, even wild at times; there are a lot more Mohawks.

ESQ: To that point, would you say that the haircuts that you see in L.A. are more popular throughout the country? Fashion comes from New York. We're not going to say there aren't any killer brands in L.A. — there are — but the fashion establishment is in New York. But then, the people that are on television are mostly in Los Angeles. Do you think they're more influential than the ones in New York?

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JS: There is a certain look that people follow out here that's very manicured. Here's a good example: facial hair. In New York, it's rough; it's natural, with no hard lines under the necks. If you want that then you go to a Latino barbershop that will give you a nice edge. But out here, the idea of anything manicured on a man's face is very popular. People want the clean lines, the edge up. You see that on people on TV, like Robert Downey Jr. with the Iron Man beard. You see that more here than you see that in New York, these manicured edged up beards, whereas in New York it's more: "Ah, I don't give a shit."

ESQ: The clothing represents that — in New York, men are dressing in lumberjack shit, and in L.A. guys are dressing in something flashier, street kids are more into color...

JS: Yeah, the color palettes out here are pretty bright. It used to be like that in New York, but it changed. Before I left, it was a bit lumberjack, derelicte kind of shit. It's very clean out here. The street culture is colorful, and it reflects the edgy hair.

ESQ: So what's going on with the shop? What's different, from some of the other establishments in L.A.? What have you been doing so far, what have you been planning?

JS: June 16th was the grand opening, it's also the 45th anniversary of Baxter, so we celebrated that with the shop opening and a new razor, produced for us by Hart Steel. It's beautiful. What separates us is that we have a very basic menu, very-straight-down-the-line — here a cut's forty, and a shave's forty. We don't really have shops like this in L.A. The barbers in here are definitely very good barbers. They have both a barber and a cosmetology background. Right now it's me and another guy named Shane, and he's a very good barber.

ESQ: That means a lot, coming from you.

JS: He's really good. I'm happy with the team. I'm working with J.P. [Mastey] and Alan [Roth, of Baxter of California], and they pay attention to detail; they pay attention to products.

ESQ: Sounds like a perfect fit.

JS: It is, and I'm really glad I had this opportunity when I came out to L.A. Coming from Freeman's, I was really worried about being in another shop where it was twenty ten-dollar cuts in a row; where I couldn't be creative, I just had to rush the client out. Here at Baxter, we're totally against that. It's sitting down and really giving your client the cut that he wants.

ESQ: Do people act differently in a barbershop in L.A. than they do in New York?

JS: In New York, it's a little bit more wild. People are on foot, so you get a dude who just left a bar, comes into the barbershop and wants to bust balls and crack jokes. I had a few of those in New York. In L.A., people are driving so they're in a rush. They'll talk to you, you'll have a great conversation with your clients, but it's a bit different. You don't have the locals just hanging out, kicking it, and everybody's in on the conversation.

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